Lost in the Memories
by Evelien Michaels
Summary: What happens when Locke and Boone open the hatch? Will they be scared or surprised for their new findings? And what if the hatch's secret is more than what lies on the surface? Please R&R! note: this fic is Kate
1. Lost in Memories

**Chapter 1: Lost in the Memories**

Their eyes widened as they watched Claire emerge from the bushes. She was badly beaten. The clothes she wore were torn, bruises and cut marks covered her legs and arms, her hair hung loosely and it looked as though someone had been tugging on it. Her left eye was swollen, and her upper lip was bleeding. Locke and Boone knew that they had to get her back to camp so Jack could make sure she was OK. After all Claire was expected to have her baby any day now, and by the looks of her, the baby could have been affected.

The three weaved through the jungle until they finally reached the caves.

"Jack, Claire needs your help," Locke said exhausted from carrying the pregnant woman through the jungle.

"Claire what happened?" Jack asked. Claire just stood staring blankly at the fire's gleaming flames. She was speechless, and hadn't said a single word since Locke and Boone found her.

Automatically, Jack switched into doctor mode, dressing and cleaning Claire's wounds, asking her questions, and telling her that everything was going to be alright. Oddly enough, none of Claire's pain seems to be focused towards the baby; however, she does tell Jack that the stress from the attack triggered a false labor. Ethan, her attacker, watched her suffer during the contractions and made no attempt to help her, but why should he?

"You should rest," Jack states to the half dazed Claire, "you've been through a lot."

Claire nodded in agreement. The last week had been a living hell for her and it would feel great to shut her eyes knowing that she was safely back at the camp. Taking a nearby blanket, she made a make-shift pillow to rest her head. She shut her tired eyes and Jack laid a blanket over her injured body.

He walked away from the camp and on to the beach where the sun could be seen just over the horizon and the numerous campfires were ablaze. His hazel eyes searched the beach until they finally locked on Charlie and Kate sitting talking to Shannon.

"Hey..." Jack said casually.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kate asked. Something in his tone seemed strange.

"Boone and Locke found Claire in the jungle, she's been badly beaten."

Charlie jumped to his feet. "Where is she?" he anxiously inquired.

"Charlie, she's resting. I'd let her sleep until tomorrow. She's had it rough..."

Reluctantly, Charlie plopped back into the sand. You could see the disappointment in his eyes. He cared for Claire and had wanted to see her for seven days now, but at least he knew he didn't have to worry anymore. She was going to be protected, there was no way the lunatic Ethan would ever get close to her again, but if he did Charlie would be ready.

"Well I guess I better get back to the caves," Jack stated, more to Kate than to Charlie.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," she replied. Her eyes sunk as she watched his figure slowly disappear into the bushes. Part of her wanted to chase after him and join him in the caves, and yet something was holding her back.

Charlie was the first one up at sunrise. He sprung to his feet and darted off into the caves. Claire was facing towards him still sleeping. Charlie hated Ethan for abusing her, but still her face looked pretty to him. She sensed his presence and slowly lifted her eyelids.

"Charlie, is that you?" she asked in a raspy voice.

He smiled and came to her side. "Claire I was so worried about you!" Her weak body struggled to move, but he helped her sit upright.

She looked into his eyes. "I think I'm alright now," she said smiling for the first time this week.

Charlie returned her smile, "I'm glad."

Meanwhile in the jungle, Sayid was startled by the sudden rustling of tree branches. The outline of the skinny blonde, Shannon, came into view and he relaxed.

"Did Boone see you leave?" Sayid questioned. Shannon and Sayid had been meeting behind her brother's back even since he told Sayid to stay away from her.

"No, I don't think so."

Sayid placed the maps, with the strange French woman's translations, on the soft dirt ground. Shannon knew some French and had been helping him with the translations. They had no idea what the map was showing, but they knew it was important. Shannon smoothed out her skirt and sat down next to Sayid. She was flirtatious and often fell for older men……and once again she failed to listen to Boone.

She looked over the French writing and couldn't make sense of most of it. She didn't want to decode the writing; she just wanted to be near him. He listened to her read the language and loved how beautiful the words sounded when they came from her mouth. He took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes.

"Sayid," she said, "I don't think we should do this anymore."

Back in the caves, Charlie, Jack, and Claire were sitting by the waterfall drinking water. Jack wondered why Ethan attacked them in the first place.

"I don't know, the guy was out of his mind," Charlie replied.

"Do you remember anything?" Jack asked.

"Yeah…..I do..." Charlie's mind went whirling back to the day of the attack. He started to tell the story from the beginning.

Charlie yelled at Ethan. "Go get Jack! Claire's going to have her baby!" They were in the jungle, and the tension put on Claire by the horrible nightmares had generated a false labor. Claire had stormed out of the caves after Jack suggested that she should take a mild sedative. Charlie chased after her, and they got lost in the never-ending trees.

After about a half an hour, Jack hadn't arrived yet, but Claire was feeling well enough to walk back to camp. On the way, they ran into Ethan. Claire's eyes grew wide with fear and Charlie wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. Charlie couldn't remember much after forward, except that he and Claire had been knocked unconscious. He remembered that Ethan, a woman, and two other men were dragging them back to their camp. He tried to get away, but the woman had hit him on the head sending him to "La La" land yet again. Then in what seemed like minutes, he was on the ground staring up at Jack and Kate, gasping for breath.

"What about you Claire? Do you remember anything?" Jack questioned.

Claire shook her head. "No," she looked at Charlie and continued, "all I remember was waking up and running through the jungle towards the beach. That's when I ran into Boone and Locke."

Charlie gazed back at Claire. "I still can't figure out why Ethan would take you, it seems strange." Claire shrugged her shoulders; she too was asking herself the same question.

"Well I guess I'll leave the two of you alone," Jack said and walked back out to the beach.

Shannon and Sayid came out of the jungle and quickly found Locke and Boone sitting in the shade of a tree, having a small argument over something. They stopped fighting when they saw Shannon approaching them. Whatever it was they were talking about, they kept to themselves. What were they trying to hide from her?

"We finished translating the French woman's writing. It seems that the coordinates form a triangle with an X or something in the middle. Obviously it's important, we just don't know what it is right now," Shannon stated to the guys.

"Well I guess we're going to find out," Locke said. The idea of another adventure into the jungle, to solve one of the island's many mysteries, lit his face with excitement. Boone, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about the idea.

"I don't know," he stated in a melancholy tone, "maybe whatever's out there doesn't want to be found."

"Oh come on Boone, don't be such a lame ass," Shannon said in disgust. She was tired of the way her brother always prevented her from doing anything that could possibly be dangerous.

In the end Boone had given in to Shannon's temptations and the four decided that they would leave the following morning before anyone else woke up and asked where they were going.

Boone grabbed Sayid's chocolate colored arm and pulled him aside. Boone looked frustrated, and by the looks of it, he seemed like he was about to boil over any second now.

"Listen, I don't know how many times I have to tell you," Boone declared almost yelling in Sayid's face. "Just stay away from my sister; she doesn't need a guy like you in her life right now."

Sayid tore away from Boone and walked towards Locke who had started up a game of Backgammon with Hurley.

Jack joined Kate on the beach's warm sand yet again. The two of them watched the sky's baby blue and pink swirl together as the sun went down over the calm and steady ocean waves.

"It's so beautiful," Kate said to Jack. He turned his head and locked onto her eyes. The sun's luminous glow lit up her face, making her appear more gorgeous than he could possibly imagine.

She hung her head and covered her eyes, breaking into a soft whimper. "Jack," she started, "I have to tell you something." She slowly lifted her head and fastened her gaze on his hazel eyes.

Jack had no idea what she was going to say, but by the look of her tear-filled eyes, she was going to reveal something extremely valuable.


	2. Through the Wreckage

A/n: ok this chapter really stinks L it is longer than the first one though….hmm…. um…I'm in a really random mood today…. I feel like writing a random AzumangaDaioh fic…maybe I shall...ok here goes!

**Chapter 2: Through the Wreckage**

They carefully walked through the jungle, trying not to make a sound. Her heavy boots crunched through the tall grass that surrounded them. Her eyes were focused straight ahead, not once did she look at Jack, who was walking beside her watching her and wondering where they were going. She had said that there was something she needed to tell him, but she didn't say what. "Follow me," she said motioning for him to follow her into the jungle. They had been traveling for almost twenty minutes, but nothing seemed suspicious, at least not yet. Then suddenly Kate stopped, staring at something between two long spiderlike branches. Jack came to her side and realized at once what it was she needed to tell him.

"Could I get you a drink?" the stewardess asked the pretty dirty blonde, Penny. They were back on the plane, right before the crash.

"No than..." Penny was interrupted by the terrible screaching of metal against metal. She looked forward at her mother, who sat six rows in front of her. They weren't able to book seats next to each other and the distance between them seemed to great. She could feel an amazing force pulling against the plane. She closed her blue eyes and screamed, "MOM!" Within fifteen short seconds the back end of the plane had torn away and Penny was plummeting to her death.

The sun was beaming down on the survivors that lay across the beach. Locke embraced the morning like he always did (some found him strange). He lifted his once paralyzed body off the soft sand and began walking over to Michael and his son, Walt, who were sitting nearby.

"Hello Mr. Locke!" Walt waved at the old man and greeted him.

Locke chuckled, "Hello Walt, do you mind if I talk to your father?"

"Alright..." Walt took the leash of his big yellow dog, Vincent, and began jogging up and down the coast.

"Michael, i wanted to apologize for not listening to what you had said earlier," Locke stated.

"Are you talking about Walt?" Locke nodded. "Locke, i was out of line before...it's just that...I never knew my son, and i didn't want anyone else to be his father...or something like that..." Michael didn't know how to put his thoughts into words.

Hurley came racing towards the two men. "Hey, i wanted to know if you guys wanted to play golf, you know...the winner gets the last of the deoderant sticks."

Locke and Michael looked at each other and laughed. "Sure, sounds like fun." Hurley helped them off the ground and the three of theme walked out to the open fields where Hurley had built a golf course.

"Kate...when did you find this?" Jack stood there bewildered. He couldn't believe what he was staring at...

"Yesterday..." Kate whispered. She had been walking through the jungle when she came across the back end of the plane. She searched the area for any survivors, but she ccould find evidence of any. There was something, or someone, that she was looking for amist the wreckage, but she had been unsuccessful. Now, though, she had Jack, and there was no way he was going to leave until he found something. If she was lucky, they might find exactly what she's looking for.

"I guess we should..." Jack started.

"I all ready did, i couldn't find anything. I looked inside the plane too...they're all dead...there's no sign of any survivors."

"Well we stil should look around..." Jack insisted on searching the area, but Kate knew that he would. She knew that it wasn't going to be quick either, they would spend hours out in the jungle, until the found something or they were found by somebody else. The travelers in the back end of the plane hadn't had it easy, the tail section of the plane had split in half, almost exactly down the aisle in the middle of the plane. There wasn't much to look at anymore. It was avident that either the boars or the polar bears had found the debris, most of the bodies still sat in their seats, but they were mangled like the pilot who had been attacked. A few suitcases laid scattered about the ground. Jack and Kate opened them, and read the labels on the inside of them. One name seemed familiar to both of them, Bernard Richardson, Rose's husband. The other names didn't ring a bell in either of their heads, so they moved on to something else. Kate bent over the pick something up of the ground. Jack didn't reconized the object at first, but then he realized she had found a ballet pointe shoe. He couldn't understand why a ballet slipper would make her cry, just who did this belong to?

Back in the fields, the game of golf had already begun. Hurley had built an excellent course with six complete holes. The survivors on the island needed a form of entertainment to calm them down after all the stress being put open them. With the frequent disappearance of water and food, it was easy to lose your mind. Most of the people decided to come to the fields to play others and test their luck, Hurley had been the hero of the day. He enjoyed his moment in the spotlight.

Michael was the first to "tee off" followed by Locke and Hurley. Hurley was winning for the first time, he was loving ever minute of it. Michael wasn't too far behind though.

"You can tie it up if you sink this put!" Hurley yelled at Michael who was trying to concentrate, Michael was tired of Hurley's gloating.

"Alright! Here goes!" Michael squated down on the green and lied up his "putter." He placed the ball on the ground and aimed for the hole. The putter lifted and the ball went straight towards the hole, and then it curved and missed. Hurley started laughing when he realized he won. "Hey! You better watch it!" Michael shouted at him. Hurley ran off in the opposite direction and Locke and Michael chased after him. "Good game." Michael said.

Kate had left the deaster site disappointed, however, she took the pointe shoes with her. Nothing else had been found at the site, at least nothing of value to her. She walked back to camp unaware of Jack, who had been with her the entire time. She found Sun sitting alone in the garden that she made all by herself. "I should help her," she said to Jack, "She's been doing this all alone."

Jack didn't want to leave. He still couldn't understand what happened today. He wanted to know why she was crying. Reluctantly, he left the two women alone and followed the path back to the caves. There was something she wasn't telling him, but he knew that soon enough he would find out.

"You've done an amazing job Sun," Kate stood over the Korean woman watching her plant seeds into the ground.

"Thank you," she replied. The two of them had begun to build a friendship behind Sun's husband, Jin's, back. He didn't know that she could speak English, and it broke her heart to lie to him. Kate took some of the seeds from Sun and began to plant them into the ground. Sun enjoyed having her around. They sat quietly chatting about life on the island. Around them tiny green plants were beginning to pop out of the ground.

Rose sat on a scrap of the plane humming to herself. Charlie approached her quietly.

"How have you been?" he asked her.

"He out there Charlie, and he's alive. I know he is," Rose was talking into space. Her husband, Bernard, was in the back of the plane when it crashed. She told Charlie everyday that Bernard was still out there looking for her. Charlie promised to comfort her until he returned, and Rose had supported him also. When Claire returned, Charlie didn't have to worry about anything anymore. All he wanted was for her to come back and now that she had returned, it seemed his troubles were over. It would only be a matter of time until Bernard returned, but no one could guess how soon it would be.

Night fell almost too soon that day, and once again Kate found herself sitting on the beach. Jack, however, was back in the caves tending to a person who had injured herself in the jungle. She watched the stars in the sky come to life, alone. Her only company was the pink slippers she found earlier that day....

The next day Kate was out in the jungle again. Somebody was out there and she was going to find them. She quietly tiptoed through the caves making sure that she didn't wake Jack or any of the others that were still sleeping. After passing over the still bodies of her fellow passengers, the jungle was hers to explore. She was going to return to the crask site, but something in the sky caught her eye. It was smoke...and it was rising above the treetops not far from were she was standing.

She didn't know where she was going, this part of the jungle hadn't been explored yet. The smoke was her only lead, she continued to follow it's grey streaks in the sky, hoping that it wouldn't suddenly stop.

Within thirty minutes she was almost to the smoke's origin. She could smell firewood burning, and she could hear the crackling of the fire's roaring flames. Who had started this fire? Could it be survivors of the tail end of the plane?

She was scared of what she would find. She could feel anxity rushing through her. The person, or people, she could find could be Ethan or one of his strange friends. What if she got captured in the jungle? No one would be able to find her. Questions raced through her head. Then the man came into view.

He was sitting by the fire with a fish that was attached to a stick. He was an african-american man in his late fifties, maybe even early sixities, she couldn't tell. She realized that the man was probably Bernard, Rose's husband.

"Bernard?" She asked.

"Who...who's there?" He responded.

His dark brown eyes had been fixed on her body that lay in the sun tanning. Her golden locks hung loosely down her back and her pretty eyes were shut. Sayid moved closer to her, but kept a distance of about twenty feet between them. He settled into the sand watching her chest rise and fall. On the other side of Shannon, Boone leaned against a tree. His eyes were also on the blonde California girl. Sayid didn't know, but he and his stepsister were closer than he imagined, in fact not to long ago Boone remembered confessing his love for her in Sydney, Australia. That now seemed like a century ago, and now he just felt like it would be easier if she wasn't there. She was his responsibility; over the years she had gotten into so much trouble that often, Boone didn't know how to get her out. Most of the sticky situations she got herself into was solved by money. Boone usually ended up bribing whatever loser Shannon had become involved with. His feeling were mixed up. One day he loved her, and the next he wanted to get rid of her. He decided that now he would just leave her alone, but if that was really the case, then why did he care about her and Sayid so much?

Bernard was frightented by the stranger's voice. It deffinately wasn't anyone he recognized. "Who...who's there?" he stuttered. The voice didn't sound like anyone from the Intersection, which relaxed his nerves, but just who is this mystery woman?

Kate appeared before the man who stood confused and startled by the voice. "Hi, I'm Kate...I was in the middle section of the plane with your wife, Rose."

"Rose...she's alive?"

"Yeah, she misses you. Everyday she tells me that you're going to come back. She says that she knows you're still out there, trying to find her."

"Honistly, I haven't been looking for her. My companions and I have been afraid to leave camp...between the bears and the psychos in this place, we just felt safer together..."

"And yet here you are sitting all alone...where exactly did everyone else go?"

"I've been asking myself the same question for about five hours now. I think they went North. They saw smoke from a fire in the sky, they were following it. Who knows, maybe they even found their way back to your campsite."

Kate's heart fluttered, she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. What if her somebody had found her camp...what if they were there now? She turned her head to face the north hoping to see something, anything that would be evidence of life...

"i hope nothing has happened to them," Bernard looked into the fire. His statement haunted Kate...what if they were dead? She hated asking herself all of these 'what if' questions. She changed the subject.

"Tell me more about these...psychos..." Kate wondered if he was talking about Ethan and the crazy French woman, Danielle.

"There were two 'leaders' of this group. I saw th man dragging something West of here...it looked almost like a woman, but that couldn't be possible..."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a week..." Could he really be talking about CLaire? They sat in the muddy soil a few brief moments before he continued, "the woman is another story. I saw her about two weeks ago chasing an Iraqi man with a knife, she was insane. And the bears..."

"What bears?"

"She had these...um...polar bears, she coaxes them and sends them off into the jungle. I've heard the echoes of various people's screams. Out here when there's only four of you, it gets lonely and frightening. I have to be the big strong man of the group, especially to the young girl."

"The young girl?"

"Yeah, Jenny...I think..."

"Penny...?"

Dusk was coming quickly on the island. The stars had already began to twinkle in the sky. The moonligt cast a milky shadow on the faces of the survivors. Kate approached Rose with a spring in her step.

A/N: SPRING!! sorry i just had to get that out of my system....muh ha

okay back to the story

"Hey!" Kate flopped down into the sand next to Rose.

"Well it's somebody cheery today," Rose replied.

"I got something for ya..."

"Oh real..Bernard? Bernard is that you?!?" Kate beamed at Rose who wearily stood to her feet and feel into her husband's arms. He was here at least just like she knew he would be. They were both crying rivers of tears and hugging and kissing. Kate just stood watching the two of them. How she longed to be loved. She had never felt love as strong as the one between them...and yet...

"Look at them..." Jack motioned towards Rose and Bernard.

"Yeah, their so cute." She faced Jack and smiled. Between the two of them something was trying to break free, but were they really in love? Was that the mystery feeling growing between them?

They walked down the beach until they found a place to sit away from the others. They wanted to be alone...

The two of them sat close to the water's edge watching and listening to the ocean's foaming waves building and breaking. Most of the time they had trouble placing their thoughts. Jack knew that he felt something between Kate and him, but he was afraid to ammit his feelings, after all Kate was a mysterious person and he often had a hard time understanding her. She, however, was waiting for Jack to confess. She shared his feelings, but knew that he had a hard time opening up. She sighed heavily and rested her head on his shoulder. Jack wasn't sure how to handle her move. He was so afraid that he was going to blow it. He decided to put an arm around her waist, drawing her nearer to him. She could feel his body heat and decided to close her eyes.

Her eyes had only been shut for several moments when they were interrupted by none other than Sawyer.

"Well aren't you cozy," Sawyer said in his cocky southern accent.

"What do you want Sawyer?" Kate was annoyed with the fact that he disruppted them.

"Well excuse me Freckles, i just thought i would give this to you," he stated thrusting a hardcovered journal with a picture of Kate and a younger girl in her face.

"Thanks..." she took the journal from him before he had time to try something smart with her...she knew the way his mind worked. Sawyer turned to walk back to his "tent," but before he did, something caught her eye. In his left hand, he held a small red bag with the letter's "P E N N Y" on the front.

"Sawyer..." he spun his head over his shoulder slowly until he met her eyes. "Give it to me..."


	3. The Forgotten

A/N: ok this chapter definately has somethings that may not be appropriate for everyone, but it still rocks! over 5,000 words! so yeah...um i want to give a huge thanks to my friend Elizabeth who helped me with my story. YOU ROCK ELIZABETH!

**Chapter 3: The Forgotten**

"I don't know what you want with this Freckles," Sawyer stated, "it's just some pills..."

"Then give it to me!" she cut him off in absolute anger. A ball of tears was forming in her left eye. That red bag wasn't just a piece of luggage containing medication; it belonged to someone very important to her. "Sawyer...please...please give it to me." A single strand of tears slid down the side of her face.

Sawyer dug the heel of his shoe into the ground and quickly disappeared. The tears in her eyes began to fall faster and faster until she realized that she had broken into a sob. Jack had never seen her cry like this before. He slowly approached her fragile body that lay motionless in the sand.

"Kate," he said putting a reassuring hand on her back, "it's alright." He tried to calm her down, but she was really upset.

She turned around to face him and laid her head on his chest; her tears were soaking his shirt now. He was at a loss for words. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer to his body.

Kate had slept in the caves last night because she wanted to get as far away from Sawyer as she possibly could. Jack stayed by her side the entire night trying to calm her down. Maybe this was a sign, should she stay in the caves with Jack? For now her answer was "yes." There was no where she would rather be.

Claire was due in about a week and she had come to talk to Jack. Kate was still sleeping when the two of them had begun to talk about her pregnancy. Claire felt like the baby could come any second, and she was afraid, so she asked Jack.

"I had contractions yesterday, it could have been a false labor, but I'm not really sure."

"I have pain medicine if you really need it; you're probably right about it being a false labor. I wouldn't worry about it right now. You're gonna be okay." Claire was reassured.

"Alright," she said in her strong Australian accent. Carefully she lifted herself on the ground and wandered back over to the cool spot Charlie had been sitting in. Part of Jack envied the two of them. Last night Kate and he were closer than they've ever been before. He wished Sawyer hadn't interrupted them...

Jack got up of the dirt floor and walked into the jungle to find water to refill his bottle. He hadn't filled his jug since last night, and it was almost empty. His pace was slow and steady, and for once he wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. Then he heard it...a long shrill scream for help coming from deep in the jungle. He shut his eyes for a brief moment and counted, "1...2...3...4...5." Then he took off to find the person creating the noise. Sometimes it was hard being the hero...

Penny was dangling upside-down from a tree screaming her head off. Something had been chasing her through the jungle and she ran for her life to get away from it. The object nearest to her was the tree she was currently stuck in. She climbed as high as she could to get away from the unknown danger. She sat on one of the highest branches shivering with fear and concentrating on maintaining her balance. She sat on the limb for what seemed like hours until she finally saw the mysterious figure back away from the tree. The descent down the tree wasn't easy. Without the adrenaline pumping through her, she was in less of a rush because she knew the deadly beast wasn't after her anymore. The branches below her were heavily entwined; she had to zigzag her way through them. She was about fifteen feet off the ground when her leg got stuck between two limbs. She knew she could pull her leg free if she tried, but she panicked and ended up hanging by her leg in the tree. She thought it was bad enough, but then she heard the disturbing popping sound from above her head. It was then she felt the sharp pain and recognized that her knee had dislocated. She started screaming for help. If she had just stayed calm, everything would be alright...

Jack found Penny within seven minutes of searching. Her body was swaying invertly back and forth. He wondered if he was too late. Penny's shouting stopped when Jack yelled up to her. "Everything's alright! I'm coming up to help you get down!"

Penny was crying when she replied, "My leg's stuck, my knee...it's...it's not in the right place...I think it popped out!" Her face showed signs of pain. Her eyes were shut tightly; she bit her upper lip and tried not to think about the pain. A trial of blood from her lip started to flow down her face and into her long wavy dirty blonde hair. She knew that her leg was a mess, and she could only imagine how much it was bleeding.

She couldn't see Jack climbing the tree, but she could hear him, and she knew he was close. Silently she prayed that he could help her and that by some miracle she would live to see her mom again.

Jack saw the mangled disaster that was once was her lower left leg. He rushed to reach her before she lost too much blood. When he was finally within two or three feet of her, he ripped the sleeve off his shirt and used it to tie above the knee cap. He couldn't pop her knee back in place at this great a height, so she would just have to wait until they reached the ground.

"Do you have anything I could use to tie around your leg?" Jack didn't know if Penny would respond. She was hypervenilating. "You have to talk to me."

"My belt…untie it…hurry, it really hurts," Penny tried to keep herself under control, but she was whimpering in pain. "Hurry please…"

Jack untied the belt and tied it below the knee cap. It wasn't much, but for now it was the only thing he could do to help her. He managed to untwine her leg, but unfortunately, her ankle was badly damaged and bleeding. The poor girl was a mess. He lifted her upper body slowly to a sitting position.

"Can you climb by yourself?" He asked her, although he knew what she was going to say.

"No, I can't even feel my leg. I have no idea how we're going to get down though. It's impossible," it seemed that Penny had already given up. The man couldn't carry her and descend at the same time. It was going to be hard to get down.

"Nothing is impossible," Jack reassured her, but he had to admit that climbing down was going to be even harder, especially when he had to support another person.

Penny leaned against the right side of Jack's body. Her left leg was almost paralyzed and virtually useless. They took it slow. Taking a branch with one hand, and stepping down onto another one. It took longer than Jack expected, but he was glad that he was able to help the girl.

Once they were safely on the ground, Jack decided to undergo the process of relocating her knee cap that had indeed popped out of socket. Penny lay on the ground trying not to think of the pain, while Jack slid her knee cap in place as quickly and painlessly as possible.

"I really thought I was going to die up there," Penny said to Jack as he wrapped her left ankle, "I thought it was my time to go."

"I don't think you should be worrying about that at your age," He replied looking at the girl who was still in pain.

"You're not the first to tell me that." Penny quickly looked away from Jack. She remembered the first time she was told her life was in danger. It was about twenty-four days ago.

Penny's mind drifted away into the past. She recognized the day she learned of her fatal diagnosis. She had to the hospital because her breathing had been very abnormal that day. Her mother picked her up from her dance lesson to take her to the doctor's. Neither of them expected that there was anything terribly wrong with her.

"Take a deep breath in," Dr. Keller told Penny, "and now release. Good…once again…OK thanks." She scribbled down notes on her clipboard and then, turning to her mom, she said, "Can I see you outside Ms. Ryan?"

"Sure…" her mom responded.

Penny grabbed her mother's arm before she left the room. "What do you think is wrong with me?" Penny was scared and her mother could tell.

"It's OK Penny, she probably just wants to talk about medication, or something like that." She smiled at her daughter trying to keep her own fear undiscovered. She followed the doctor out the door and closed it behind her.

Penny sat anxiously waiting for her results. Her mind had drawn to several conclusions, but in the end she convinced herself that it was just a minor breathing problem.

Her mother's voice became louder from outside the door. She could hear them arguing, and then abruptly they stopped. She didn't realize what was going on at first, but then she heard her mother crying.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ryan," she could hear the nurse say through the door.

The nurse opened the door and called to Penny, "Let's go down to the X-Ray Room, OK?"

The question was evidently rhetorical. She followed behind the nurse looking left and right, trying to find her mother. Penny slipped into the bathroom to change out of her clothes and into the hospital-type smock. She was nervous, what had made her mom so upset?

Her mom was there to greet her when she left the bathroom. "What's going on?" Penny asked her mother.

"They just have to take some X-Rays," she told her daughter without exposing her fear.

"Mom," Penny said, "I'm scared."

Ms. Ryan pulled her crying daughter close to her. They were both so afraid.

She walked into the X-Ray room trying to be fearless. The bed that the doctor instructed her to lay on was cold and hard to her skin. She wished she was somewhere else; anywhere would be better than here.

The doctor moved the snake-like arm of the camera over Penny's chest. "Stay still, and when I tell you take a deep breath in and hold it."

Penny's heartbeat quickened, and her breathing became shallower. "Calm down she told herself." The doctor gave her the signal to hold her breath. She took three pictures until she was satisfied.

"How long will it take to get the results?" Ms. Ryan asked the doctor.

"About an hour or so. You can come back later."

"No, that's OK, we'll just wait."

They sat there in silence fearing the worst. Penny was shaking back in forth. The doctor was making a big deal about something that was probably just asthma, or something to that extent.

"Come with me," the doctor finally said after seventy-three minutes.

The three of them walked down the hallway speechless. Penny looked at her mom who was staring straight ahead, trying not to think of the possible conclusions.

"I know you guys have been here awhile, so I'll just get right to the point. You see these white patches?" the doctor asked displaying the first X-Ray. "These patches are created by an infection; in your daughter's case this would be cancer."

"WHAT?" Ms. Ryan was screaming at the doctor.

"I know this has come as a shock, but if we don't do something fast, she only has about a month."

Penny was silent, she didn't know whether to accept this or not.

Back on the beach, Claire, Charlie, and the newly reunited Bernard and Rose, are having a conversation.

"So how are you feeling Claire?" Rose asked the pregnant woman.

"I'm alright now, Jack says he's due in about a week," Claire answered.

"He?" Charlie questioned. He never heard Claire say anything about the gender of the baby.

"Yeah, I think it's a he, but you never know. I could be wrong."

"Do you have any names picked out?" Bernard inquired.

"No, not yet. Guess I really haven't been thinking about names."

"This must be scary for you," Rose said.

"Yeah it is, but I'm really excited you know."

Kate was standing detached from the rest of the group. She had waken and realized that Jack wasn't there. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have a little chat with a certain person. She looked over by the direction of his "tent," but he wasn't there. Maybe she should just sneak in and take it…

She approached his tent looking for him in all directions. She could find him anywhere, so she began to tear the place apart searching for the red bag. It was no where to be found.

"Damn you Sawyer," she said under her breath. She was beyond frustrated with him. He had been a jerk last night, he knew the bag was hers, and he also knew how much she wanted it back.

"Somethin' I could you with Freckles? Or do you just like rummaging through my stuff?"

Kate didn't look at him, she didn't stop either. Then she realized where the bag had ended up.

"Looking for this?" he asked her in his cocky tone, holding up the red bag.

"Give it to me," she demanded.

"Oh I'd be happy to, for kiss."

She hit him across the face, "Give it to me… now."

"Sorry Freckles, offer stands."

"Fine!" she sneered in his face and stomped off. He liked to push her buttons. Ever since Shannon had gotten sick and she had to get the medicine from Sawyer, he had been thinking that Kate actually enjoyed kissing him. He was disgusting…

"Let me help you up," Jack told Penny who was still lying on the ground.

"OK," she answered. He grabbed her arms and helped to pull her up. Her injured leg was still pretty much immobilized by her fall, but she used her strong leg to walk. She didn't get very far though. In a matter of about two minutes she found herself on the ground in a heap again.

"Why don't I just carry you?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, that might work a little bit better," Penny laughed for the first time in weeks. Jack put her right arm around his neck, and swooped her legs up. She didn't weigh that much, but it still surprised Penny. It felt good to be in his arms knowing that she didn't have to walk again, at least not for awhile.

"So what's your name?" Penny questioned.

"Oh it's Jack," he replied, "and you are…"

"Penny."

"Penny…" Jack recalled what happened last night on the beach. He remembered the little red bag with her name on it. "Somebody found your bag yesterday."

"The red one?"

"Yeah, you're medication."

"I've been looking for that bag for about five days now…"

"Don't mind me asking, but what is the medicine for?"

"I have lung cancer…" Penny stared away from Jack and at one of the many trees around her.

"You weren't on chemotherapy?"

"No, my mom and I had two choices; I could take chemotherapy, or I could take this experimental drug. We decided to go with the second one. The doctors told me I only had about a month to live and they said that if my system responded well with the drug, the tumors could shrink, or maybe even vanish if I was lucky."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh it's OK, believe me."

Jack didn't know how to respond. It was very unfortunate for a person as young as Penny to be dying. He walked around the trees and low bushes in the jungle. He almost tripped over a log, but he managed to keep his balance. His arms were getting tired off holding the girl, but he knew he couldn't give up now. They were getting close to camp. He continued telling himself that they could make it…

Kate was upset that she had been caught. She sat alone again on a boulder watching the waves break. It was peaceful, but she was too frustrated to admire the beach's pure beauty.

She rose to her feet and walked over the water's edge. The warm water lapped at her feet making her "sink." She squatted down in the spray and ran her longer slender fingers through the ankle-high water. She felt very low and alone. She wondered where Jack was, she wanted to be with him just like last night.

The water felt silky and smooth to the touch. She sat down in the water, soaking her clothes. She didn't care though; she enjoyed how cool the water felt on her skin. Jack had been gone for most of the day. None of the others had seen him, and no one had an explanation for where he went. She was afraid that something had happened to him. There were too many dangers on the island; the bears, Ethan, the French woman, and whatever that thing was that attacked the pilot the first day that had arrived on the island. She sat in amidst the waves thinking of him.

Jack knew that he couldn't carry Penny much longer, but he knew that they were within hundred yards of the camp, any minute now he would see the countless fires on the beach. Penny had been anxious to return to the camp, although, she ended up falling asleep. Jack knew that he had to return to the camp as soon as possible to make sure her leg hadn't become infected. A small ring around her ankle had almost been stripped entirely of skin; the wound could definitely be contaminated.

Jack wondered what Kate was doing. He felt bad for leaving her for so many hours without telling her where he was. He hoped she wasn't worrying about him. He thought of how she would react when he brought Penny back to the camp. He knew that she was a very important person in her life.

Up ahead, he could see the beach through the trees. Finally, they had come home, back to where they belong. He couldn't see Kate, but he knew she was out there. His pace quickened, when he realized he was going to make it.

He brought Penny inside the caves. Instantly, people swarmed over him asking questions about where he was and who the girl was.

"I have to tend to her leg," he said, "she's been badly injured." The people quietly accepted their leave. He found a clean washcloth to soak and sanitize her wounds. He first took care of the ankle by gently washing it and rewrapping it with medical tape. Then he checked on her knee to make sure it was where it was supposed to be. He wrapped the entire region around her knee with medical bandages also.

Back on the beach, Kate was still sitting in the water.

"Jack's back," Hurley said to her, "and he brought back a girl with him."

"What?" Kate tore past Hurley before he even had time to explain. Her heart skipped a few beats and accelerated.

She walked into the caves past Claire and Charlie who were sitting on the ground laughing about something. "Where's Jack?" she asked Charlie who was saying something about peanut butter…

He stuck his right arm out and pointed. "He's over there by the waterfall."

Kate dashed of in the direction Charlie's index finger was pointing towards. She needed to find Jack. She ran through the dirt, sprinting past survivors that were sitting on the ground talking to each other. Some of them said "Hi" to her, but she was oblivious to their greetings. Then she saw the two of them; the dark haired, hazel-eyed Jack, and the blonde, blue-eyed Penny.

"Penny…" Kate had no idea what to say to her.

"Hi Kate," Jack said smiling.

"Mom, is that you?" Penny asked crying. Kate came to her side and kneeled in the dirt. They looked at each other and shed tears. Penny struggled to sit up and Kate embraced her daughter in her arms.

The two of them sat by the orange glow of the fire, entangled in each other's arms. Penny's salty tears scattered across her mother's medium green Henley. Kate was also crying, loudly. She didn't care who was staring at her. She finally found what she had been looking for. After a month of searching, her daughter was at last safe with her. She was relieved.

Jack, on the other hand, didn't know what to do. He couldn't believe that Kate had a daughter. Why hadn't she said anything about that before?

Dusk had fallen on the camp, and word of Penny and Kate spread like wildfire amongst the forty-six people. They all had questions about the sudden appearance of the teenage girl, but only one of them had the answers, and she would only tell Jack. The others didn't know how to explain the relationship between Kate and Penny, but they knew something was being left hidden; something that she may not want them to know.

Jack was squatting on the ground checking the sleeping Penny's breathing and pulse. He made sure everything was in order with her leg. The bandages on her leg were rewrapped and the wounds cleaned again. Jack worked in the caves by the fire in silence; however, he was aware of the young girl's mother looming over his head watching him carefully. She hawked him like a mother hen to her chicks, waiting for him to make a mistake, but hoping nothing went wrong.

"I'm not gonna bite," Jack said to Kate whose eyes were fixed on her latent daughter.

"I'm sorry…" her voice drifted off. Jack wondered what world her mind was floating in.

"So…" Jack didn't know how to start the conversation. He wanted to know more about the story behind Penny. Something about Penny was painful to Kate. There was something that she was afraid to tell him, but he was going to suck it out of her. He was anxious to ask her about this mysterious memory buried beneath her, but he didn't want to ruin what the two of them had started by poking around in her private memories. Jack had to know, he needed to know.

Kate sat muted staring into the closed eyes of Penny. Jack had something deep on his mind. She could tell by the look on his face. It seemed she knew him too well. "So what?"

"How are you doing?"

Kate stared at him raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You found my daughter, I haven't been this happy in awhile."

"And yet you seem so down. What's wrong?"

"Jack…she's dying. And by the looks of her…she's not going to survive much longer."

"You're talking about her cancer?"

"Yeah, how did y…"

"Penny told me in the jungle. She's worried about you. She's afraid of what's going to become of you if something should happen to her. You're all she has."

"I know. I feel horrible for everything I did to her. She shouldn't have been on the plane. She should be back home in the hospital continuing her treatment. She doesn't deserve this, not after all she's been through."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright…after a month you'd think that I'd be ready for this, but I'm not. I still can't believe it."

Jack gazed at her engulfed in her beauty. The slim golden light in the horizon and the red orange glow from the fire lit her face up and made her face illuminate.

"Kate…I was wondering…I don't know how to say this but…Penny's…"

She cut him off. "I didn't know him. I never even saw his face." She sounded ashamed. Her eyes darted to the ground and locked on to the wood crackling in the fire. "It was around my fifteenth birthday." She began to tell him her story, whirling the two of them back into a flashback.

Her older sister, Maura, of 17 was out partying again. Like the previous times she ran off, she knew her little sister Kate would be out looking for her, trying to find her. Maura didn't care about Kate, or the danger she was putting on her by forcing her to track her down. She was reckless, and destroyed her life at a young age. Their parents died shorter than 3 weeks ago, and Maura had already blown most of the money left to them on drugs and alcohol, but she didn't care. She dropped out of high school and usually left Kate alone in their small two bedroom apartment. Her life changed for the worse and at this point she had absolutely no control over her actions.

Kate walked down the dirty city streets of Manhattan looking for Maura. She had been deserted yet again by her foolish older sister. The alleys were frightening to the young teen; she hated walking at night when there could be anyone on the streets waiting to take her away. The crime was horrible in this place she called home. Anything could happen to her…anything at all.

Her feet ached from walking almost five city blocks to find her sister. Neon Light, the club owned by her sister's best "friend," was only a block away. She knew her sister was there. It was the only place she could get in free of charge.

She opened the beaten down door and found the owner, Star. "Where is she?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Well look who's come back. Couldn't stay away from the fun now could you Kate?"

"Just tell me where the heck she is!"

"You stupid little bitch, you actually think I'm going to tell you. Look shrimp she's busy right now."

"Yeah I can only imagine what she's up to." She pushed her way around Star and began trying to fight through the crowd.

Too many people were crammed into the small space and the stench of sweaty dancers nauseated Kate. She kept her head forward and followed a path to the door leading to the backroom.

She threw open the door in rage. Her sister was in there as she expected, with a guy.

"Who's this? The boy toy of the day?"

"Shut up Kate, what the fuck do you want?"

"You took 100. I need that money to buy food."

"Like I care, just get out."

"I'm gonna starve!"

"Why should I care?"

"What's wrong with you? You're not the Maura I knew. You're not the one that was on the honor roll and worked as a babysitter; you're just some lame drug addict." Kate turned to leave when Maura grabbed her arm.

"You want to have some fun with me like the old days?"

"What…what do you mean?"

"Yo Mitch!" she shouted to a guy standing in the shadows eavesdropping. His face was covered by what looked like a mask a robber would wear. "I got something for ya!"

"Maura!" Kate screamed at her sister and struggled to break free. "What are you doing?" Kate wasn't like her sister. She was afraid, and she definitely didn't want to follow her sister's commands. Kate used her last resource. "HELP!" she shouted to anyone who could hear her. Not even one pair of eyes turned towards the terrified girl. Maura threw her at the mysterious Mitch, who grabbed her and shoved her into the locker room behind him. She was crying immensely and tried to fight the man who had pushed her into the room, but he was too strong for her. She was defenseless.

Kate spoke her words quietly, as if she would break into sobbing any moments now. Kate stopped her story, in to much pain from recollection to go on. Her eyes lost focus on Jack's face and reverted to watch the wisps of gray smoke coming off the fire. She tried to continue, "he…he…" she started in a shaky voice with tears balling in her eyes. "It was horrible." she paused. "He…" the ball burst and she turned away from Jack covering her face, trying to hide her flood of tears.

"Kate…" Jack said, obviously concerned for the woman he cared about.

She turned to him and raised her head, with wet tears streaming down her cheeks. He slowly approached her and sat down resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder and wiping a strand of tears with his right thumb. His hand was warm on her face. She gazed into his beautiful hazel eyes, and began to cry again. She laid her head on his chest and let the tears flow from her eyes on to his navy blue shirt. He made no intention of wanting to stop her. She dug her nails into his back slightly in frustration. Jack wrapped his big arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He talked to her slowly and gently, like a mother would to a young child. He allowed his fingers to run through her long dark gorgeous wavy locks. She pulled away from him slowly, catching his gaze. Then she realized what had happened…

Back on the beach, Locke was giving Walt hunting tips. He was explaining how to use the different knives in his case. Walt, like always, was eager to learn anything about hunting. His father, Michael, was upset that Locke and Walt were friends, but he seemed to be less angry lately. Michael quietly advanced towards the two of them.

"Hey Locke, Walt. Whatcha doin?"

"I was teaching your son how to use different knives for hunting. He's a special person Michael. He's very special."

"Really…that sounds interesting."

"Dad, you couldn't really be interested in something that has to do with hunting are you?"

"Yeah, I think I am."

"Cool," Walt was excited that his father had finally considered how interesting hunting could be.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed," Locke told the two of them. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mr. Locke," Walt replied to the old man.

Michael watched the man's shadow disappear before turning to his son. "I wanted to talk to you about your mom."

"What about her?"

"I just wanted you to know that I always loved you Walt. I wanted to be a part of your life, too. Your mom, however, took you and didn't let me see you. I made you those cards, hoping that your mom would send them to you, but unfortunately you haven't seen them until now. Walt, I'm sorry if I've been a horrible father to you, but I'm just worried that something is going to happen to you."

"Dad, you're a great father."

"And Walt…"

"Yeah?"

"Locke's a good person."

The orange flames of the cave's fire were dying down. On one side of the fire, the two newly reunited couples were already sleeping. On the opposite side, Penny was resting and Jack was no longer awake. Kate, however, was still up watching the fire's flames dance. She wondered if what happened earlier between her and Jack was a dream, but she knew it wasn't. She knew that what she realized was indeed correct. Jack was in love with her.


	4. Underground

Chapter 4: Underground

The first rays from the golden sun leaked into the caves from in between the trees. Kate, in response, squinted her forest green eyes and lifted a hand to shield the light. The sun was dancing with the white clouds; hiding behind them, then coming in to view yet again. She then became aware of the sounds of her fellow inhabitants and the smells of the island.

She recognized the sound of the waterfall as it trickled onto the rocks below, the smell of the fires that were scattered all over camp, and the sound of the ocean waves lapping against the beach at a steady pulse. There was one sound, however, that she couldn't distinguish; the sound of someone's breathing. She turned her body at a 180 degree angle, and came face to face with the still-sleeping Jack. She had fallen asleep by the fire with Jack. Something happened last night, but it wasn't what it looked like…neither of them were like that.

"Mom?" Kate was snapped out of her daydream by her innocent daughter's question.

"How are you feeling?" she responded afraid of what was going through Penny's mind.

"Yeah, um I'm fine. Mom what…happened?"

"Penny, it's not what it looked like…."  
"So what exactly did I miss last night?"

"Penny!"

"Sorry I had to ask…evidently something good." Kate punched her playfully.

"You better watch yourself kid."

"Uh oh, I'm in trouble now," Penny laughed which startled Jack. "Well I guess I'll go," she added in a whisper before walking onto the beach.

"Penny! Come back!"

"Hey," Jack was now fully awake and aware of what was going on.

"Hi," Kate didn't know what to say. How are you supposed to respond in awkward situations like this?

"How's Penny doing?" Jack asked concerned for his new patient.

"What…oh she's fine. She was just here a minute ago. I think she's on the beach now."

"You mean she's already up and moving? I guess there's no stoppin' that kid."

"Tell me about it," Kate joked. This was going a lot better than she had planned. She still felt extremely nervous about the situation on hand. "I wanted to thank you again."

"It's no problem, really," Jack replied locking onto her two beautiful eyes. Was this more than it seemed? Kate smiled in return, unsure of what to do next.

"How's the baby?" Charlie asked approaching Claire on the beach sitting by the water. He sat down beside her and handed her a water bottle. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," she said. "Baby's fine. He's due any day now."

"That's great," Charlie smiled. He was almost as excited about the situation as she was. "Doesn't it make you nervous though…you know being on this island…"

"Actually, I think I'm alright, I know Jack's going to take good care of me." She replied returning his gaze. On this island, an innocent gaze could say a thousand words, especially between two people like Charlie and Claire.

"Boone….Boone…" Locke whispered to the teenage boy, trying to wake him up.

Boone slowly sat up wiping the sleep from his eyes. "What…"

"Are you ready to go?" Boone looked back at Shannon who was still asleep on the sand.

"Yeah…let's go."

The two of them zigzagged around the others trying not to arouse them from their dreams. Their shadows quickly disappeared into the jungle, shaking the bushes. Boone hoped that no one heard them leave.

They moved quickly and silently towards the metal hatch they found a few days earlier. Boone and Locke had been studying it for days, but they were still unable to open it. The hatch didn't have any handles, and the glass was not breaking. So two questions remained unanswered; how do they open it and what is inside of it?

The two of them had been studying the metal object without coming up with a possible solution for either question.

"I'll be right back," Locke stated to Boone.

"Where are you going?" he questioned.

"I'm going to get the axe, you never know if we're going to use it." Locke replied and then turned and walked through the bushes towards the camp.

Back on the beach, Jack finally located Penny who was standing in the midst of the waves. She didn't look like a girl on death row; however, she was dying and helpless. Jack would save her though, he had to.

"Well look who's feeling better," Jack said, surprised that she was even able to move," looks like you're having fun."

"Yeah, I'm just trying to keep my mind off things."

"What do you mean?" Jack was confused by the young girl's remark.

"It's just that, I'm running out of medicine. I'm going to be in a lot of pain if I don't get my bag back."

Jack felt like it was his job to protect everyone on the island, especially from Sawyer. Something was disturbing about him, and Jack certainly didn't trust him. He had a job to do, and he wouldn't stop until his task was completed.

Jack found Kate in the garden sitting having a one-way conversation with Sun.

"Hey," both women looked up at him, though he directed the greeting towards Kate.

"So what's up?" she rose from the ground brushing the dirt off unto her jeans.

"Why don't I just get straight to the point…?" Jack looked at her as his voice faded into a whisper.

"OK…" Kate was already aware of what Jack was going to tell her.

"Penny's almost out of medicine, we need to get the rest of it back from Sawyer."

Kate turned to focus on Sun planting guava seeds into the ground. The Korean woman was a diligent worker; each seed was placed in the soil with great care. Kate enjoyed her company, but now she wanted to be alone with Jack. Kate knew Sun spoke English and Kate was afraid Jack would say something Sun wasn't supposed to hear.

"So what's the plan?"

"I...uh…don't have one at the moment…"

"Wow, this is a first." The two of them laughed and began walking back to the beach. Kate turned around and waved to Sun, who was still planting guava seeds. As they disappeared through the shadows of the trees, Sun looked up and noticed that Jack was holding Kate's hand. She smiled…finally….

Sawyer was on the beach talking to one of the younger female passengers wearing a black halter top and a hot pink miniskirt. She, obviously, was uninterested in him. Sawyer was a jerk to most of the women on the island, this one was no different.

"You PIG!" the woman shouted and stomped off in disgust passed Jack and Kate.

"Well if it isn't the lovebirds," said Sawyer mockingly.

Kate responded with cold stare. She was tired of him messing around. He knew why she was here; he knew what she was looking for, and he wasn't going to give it up, not until she gave him what he wanted.

"Where is it?" she asked aggressively. She wasn't going to take any of his foolishness.

"Listen Freckles, I told you what I wanted. Offer stands."

"You've got a lot of nerve. A thirteen year old is dying because you're being an ass; now give it to me. Give it to me now."

"'Fraid I can't do that…"

Kate was beyond annoyed. She sneered at him before turning and stomping off into the caves to check on Penny.

"What's the matter with you?" Jack questioned rhetorically.

"This is who I am; why don't you go be who you are supposed to be? You're the doctor, you help the girl."

"Sawyer you know I can't do anything for her without that medicine. Are you really going to let this girl die?"

"Well by the looks of it, I guess I am."

Jack would fight for Kate; he would fight for her daughter. He wouldn't let her die. He couldn't bear to witness such a tragedy.

Boone spun his head around towards the direction of the rustling leaves. He was in the jungle again, watching the metal hatch, trying to find a way to open it. The dilated pupils of his blue eyes slowly decreased in size when the face of John Locke appeared before him. He sighed deeply and Locke gave him a hearty laugh.

"Didn't mean to scare ya Boone!" Locke laughed mockingly.

Boone shook his head and rolled his eyes, "can we just get started already?"

They had been studying the metal hatch without finding a way to open it. Their task was tedious, but they knew the metal object held a purpose. The contents underneath the hatch could be of value to them, but there was no way of knowing. This was one of the island's many answered questions.

The hatch was made of a strong metal, Locke guessed that it was titanium; however, that wasn't the last of their problems. The people there before them obviously wanted the secret to be theirs, and only theirs. Boone didn't know what do make of the hatch; it had no handle, and a small window that they had been unsuccessful at breaking. He was on the edge of throwing in the towel, giving up... but then it came to him...

"How could we have been so stupid?" he asked bluntly. "So stupid..."

"Are you telling me that you have a solution before me?" Locke was surprised that the young boy had actually used his mind to come up with something... evidentially this was going to be something good.

She was still asleep in the shade of the caves. Her breathing had become more shallow and the rate in which she breathed become slower and slower. Jack watched her fragile body as his emotions swirled through his head. He would not let the woman he loves lose her only daughter. She was withering away before his eyes. He couldn't let her die...he wouldn't allow it. He checked her pulse and registered 50 Beats per Minute. Her pulse, although somewhat slow, was close to normal, but he knew everything was going wrong. Sawyer was an idiot. He knew that he was morally low, but he just couldn't believe he was seriously going to let an innocent teenager die. Jack knew what Sawyer saw in Kate, and he wouldn't let it continue. He was going to get that bag back if it was the last thing he did.

"It's not good is it...?" Kate said wearily.

Jack rose to his feet and cautiously walked over to Kate who was leaning against the cave's dark wall. He could see a single silver tear form in the corner of her eye. She struggled to keep the tears from falling, but Jack knew better. She wasn't going to last more than a few seconds before bursting. Jack put a hand on her shoulder and firmly grasped her soft skin. He wanted to comfort her, but instead his simple gesture made her break into a sob. Her feet gave out beneath her and as a result her body slid to the ground and landed in a heap. Jack followed her to the floor and pulled her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder blade. He softly laid his head on hers, in response. "Kate, I'm not going to let anything happen to her. We both know that," he pulled away from her slightly to look her in the eyes. "Nothing he does can harm you...I just want you to know that I'm here for you," he said as he brushed a strand of her long curly hair from her face.

"Jack," she said almost in tears again. She placed her hands on his chest and forced herself back into his arms. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her towards him. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you..." he said placing a short innocent kiss on her forehead."Kate..."

"Yes?" she stated; her eyes were red and she was tired.

He looked directly into her beautiful eyes and said the three words Kate had been waiting and praying for, "I love you."

Kate suspected Sun was in the garden, and she was indeed correct. She liked the Korean woman and had begun to build a friendship with her after learning her secret. Michael and she were the only ones who knew Sun spoke English...even her husband didn't know. She joined her in the soft dirt of the garden and took a handful of guava seeds from the bag in which they had been collected them. Kate carefully made a small hole for each seed, and put each in its place with care. Then she covered the seeds with a layer of dirt and began a conversation with Sun.

"How are you doing today?" Kate asked hoping someone was having a better day than she was. Kate left the caves because she couldn't stand watching Penny struggle for breath.

"I'm OK...how are you?" Sun knew of Penny's condition and was sympathetic towards Kate.

Kate stared at the dirt in silence before responding. "Sawyer took my daughter's medication...she's going to die if she doesn't get it back..."

Sun looked at Kate and the smile that usually was on her face faded..."I'm sorry for you..."

"Yeah..." Kate ran her long spider-like fingers through the warm black dirt. She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. "Sun I have a question..."

"OK..."

"You helped Shannon breathe when she had that asthma attack. I know Penny's condition is much worse, but if you could do anything...just to make it easier for her to breathe..."

"I could help you..."

"Really?" Kate was happy that Sun could do something for Penny until Kate got her medication back from Sawyer.

"Sure," Sun replied a smile tickling across her lips, "I would love to help you."

Locke and Boone rose to their feet when they heard the sound of rustling leaves. The sound became louder and louder until Michael and Walt appeared through the trees.

"What the heck is that?" Michael asked pointing to the hatch lying in front of him. This must be what was occupying their time. But what was it? Why was it so important to them?

Locke sighed and bent down to the ground, "It's a hatch Michael…"

"How do you open it?" Walt questioned.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Boone added.

"Well, how do you open a metal, handless door with a window of unbreakable glass?" Locke inquired.

"Are you sure that glass is unbreakable?" Michael asked in return.

"Don't you think we would have broken it by now?" Boone stated in a cocky manner.

Michael glared at him, but his simple statement wasn't enough. He grabbed the axe and tried to hit the glass, but he was of no avail. He exhaled deeply and gave the axe back to Locke. "Maybe it's not even glass…." Michael said disappointingly.

They sat in silence for several moments. All of their eyes were fixated on that metal hatch. What if they were just wasting their time? There was a chance that if they open it whatever was inside would serve no usual purpose to them. They needed to try though. They couldn't give up….not now.

"Boone," Locke whispered facing the teen, "didn't you say you had an idea…….?"

Jin approached Hurley on the beach. The fact that Jin couldn't understand him (Hurley couldn't understand him either) made it hard for the two to communicate, however, they tried to spend time with one another.

"Hey dude, what's up?"

Jin gave him a stare as if to apologize for being rude to him earlier. He was temperamental and couldn't really control his anger…….so he took it out on the wrong person.

"Dude are you serious?" Hurley was surprised that Jin would do anything nice to him. He never thought he would admit his mistakes either.

Jin held up a fishing rod and a net, hoping Hurley would get the gist. "You want me to fish with you?"

Jin stared at him before nodding. He waved his hand as if to say "Come with me." He pointed through the trees and walked off in that direction. Hurley pulled himself off the ground and wandered off behind him.

They hiked through the jungle in silence, for neither of them knew the other's language. Sometime Hurley would say something here and there, but the conversation usually was dead, like the boar hanging over their heads. It wasn't something Locke caught. He usually used a net. This person used rope to tie its legs together and hung it upside down. They looked up at the strange animal above them. Jin noticed something on the side of the boar. It seemed like teeth marks, but what or who was it from?

Hurley couldn't stay there with that mangled animal. He took off in the direction they had been heading in.

Jin quickly caught up to him and joined him at his side. They were in silence yet again. Jin knew they were close to the beach. They were running low on food, and it would be good if they came back with a lot of fish today.

They found the beach after walking through the jungle for what seemed like an hour, but they had no way of knowing. They set up their net and walked out into the water.

"Hey guys!" Charlie yelled running towards them from further down the beach. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked out of breath.

"Uh….catching fish dude…." Hurley replied.

"Oh right….can I help?" Charlie questioned smiling. He was always looking for ways to make himself useful.

"Sure dude," Hurley said.

Jin handed Charlie his side of the net and instructed them how to use it with arm motions. It seemed easy enough, but Hurley knew from experience that it wasn't as easy as looked. Jin grabbed the fishing spear and they got to work.

An hour and a half later, they decided to give a rest. Charlie and Hurley caught about seven fish total, however, Jin had killed almost twenty of them.

Charlie compared their two piles and laughed. Jin smiled at the two of them as if to say, "Ha, I've won!"

They carefully wrapped the fish in the net and moved as quickly as they could through the jungle. They returned back to camp laughing. Charlie and Hurley were so proud of themselves. At least Hurley caught something this time….

Jack greeted them, "Looks like somebody was fishing," he said gratified that someone had actually hunted and brought something back. Jin gave him the fish and Jack tried to find somewhere to put it.

"Did you guys have fun?" He asked the group.

"You should have seen it," Charlie stated happily, "Hurley kept getting caught in the netting and when the fish swam by, and we would move the net and he would topple over. It was hilarious." Charlie laughed recalling the memory from the past hour.

"Yeah really funny Charlie……….real funny….." Hurley replied jokingly.

Locke returned to their secret spot with his case of knives. Boone was smart enough to notice that the window on the hatch was screwed in place. They were going to use the knives as screwdrivers, but none of them thought it would work.

Some of the knives were too thick for the bolts, so they used the ones they could. In the end, only three of them were big enough, so Michael, Boone, and Locke would each get one. There were twelve screws total, and they were big metal ones. Needless to say, their task was going to take awhile.

Walt sat down on the ground not far from them, disappointed that they wouldn't let him do something to help.

They had been working on the window for almost an hour and six of the screws were unscrewed, however, Locke was tired. Walt quickly jumped to his feet, "I'll help you Mr. Locke!" He said eager to pitch in.

"Walt I'm not sure if you can handle something like this," Michael stated stubbornly.

"Actually I think I could use a break Michael," Locke replied smiling, "you want to take over for me Walt?"

Walt smiled and took the knife from Locke. He sat on the ground and started to turn the screw. They were tightly in place; this job was going to be harder than they thought.

Another half hour passed when Boone's muscles grew tired. They now had only two screws left. Locke had been drinking water and resting, but was now ready to start up again. He helped Walt with one screw, while the very determined Michael finished the last one.

After two long hours of working, they had their task complete. Locke grabbed the glass and opened up the window. He felt down the hole until he at last grabbed an inside handle. He opened the hatch and the four of them stared at its contents with their jaws hanging open.

Looking them in the face was millions of dollars worth of bills.

She quietly snuck past him trying not to disturb him. Penny had finally located her medication and stole it back from Sawyer. She hoped that he would not wake as she left the jungle. He had hidden it in the middle of several bushes, so he would hear someone if they were trying to steal it. Unfortunately, Penny was careful and she made no such noise.

She tiptoed away as quietly as she possibly could, but tripped on a log and fell face first in the dirt. Sawyer woke from his sleep and jumped to his feet.

Penny pulled herself off the ground and ran for the beach. She never looked back, but she knew Sawyer was getting close to catching her. She sprinted through the sand and into the caves. She was joined by Sawyer, only moments later.

"Give it to me!" Sawyer demanded.

"NO!" Penny shouted back at him, "It's mine." She was nervous when Sawyer began to get closer to where she was standing.

"Give it to me……..now….." Sawyer was ticked off and Penny knew it. He came to her side and said one last time, "Give it to me."

Penny hugged her baggage to her chest and shook her head. Sawyer raised his arm, as if to strike the young girl, but Jack was there. He grabbed his hand before he could do anything to her.

_They had found millions of dollars, but what were they going to do? Should they tell someone else, or should they keep it a secret?_


End file.
